


Rhythm

by Kaunis_Sielu



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, marvel AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 02:23:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17819999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaunis_Sielu/pseuds/Kaunis_Sielu
Summary: When someone takes a shot at you during a performance your best friend and bandmate Sam calls in a favor. Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes have never lost a client, you’re not going to be their first.





	1. Chapter 1

It was the few seconds of quiet that you liked the best. The moments that it takes for you to walk from your dressing room to the side of the stage, your band in front of you as you take even steps to the stage. This used to terrify you, make you so anxious you’d be almost sick. But now, you lived for it.

That second the lights went out, the band runs onto the stage, the crowd cheering then the silence. You always waited for that absolute silence to look over at the tech who’d hit the button for the pyrotechnics and make the first shot of fireworks go off. The noise of the crowd starts to build again and when your gut screams ‘go!’ you do.

The band starts playing your music and you launch into song. You get through the first half of your set without noticing him, too hyped on the energy from the crowd and the way Mikey’s bass is thrumming through you.

But then you see him.

Dark hair slicked back, older than your usual draw and a rather slimy smirk on his face. You get guys like this sometimes, but for some reason this one stands out.

You have part of the show where you do a cover of an old song by Fred Astaire. You sing it with just Mikey’s base, plucking along the melody and your smoky voice fits it perfectly. You love doing this song. And your guys love the break, even Mikey can sit back a bit more for this one.

You have two more songs on your set, another ballad then the one that had been dubbed ‘the song of the summer’.

You go back out for an encore, just you. The guys like to sit back on this one, so you bring out the guitar and sing an acoustic version of your very first single.

It’s then that the man moves oddly, catching your attention once again, he pulls out a gun and you freeze. He aims it at you and you’re frozen, eyes wide, sitting on a stool with your guitar on your lap, fingers still on D.

He gets off one shot, that splinters the bottom of your guitar but doesn’t seem to hit you.

One of the security guys yanks you off the stool and blocks you with his own body. There’s a paramedic standing by as the rest of the guys crowd around you. You’ve got a scrape but nothing worse.

God it could’ve been so much worse.

“Why did he take a shot at me?” You ask taking a water bottle from Sam.

“He, he got away.” Mikey admits quietly and your heart drops.

“They didn’t get him? Someone wants me dead? We have four more shows in the state.”

“Uh, dude,” Peter says looking at you like you’re crazy, “We’re not doing anymore shows until these guys are caught.”

“But the fans-“

“The fans will understand.” He argues.

“I think it’d be a good idea to get a couple buddies of mine in here. We served together in the military and now they’re in private security. They’re based out here.”

“What is that gonna cost us?” Mikey asks and the other two men glare over at him.

“Dude. Someone tried to kill our girl. It’s worth it.” Peter snaps, his arms folding across his chest. “Sam, make the call.”

“Yea. Sorry you’re right.” Mikey mutters as Sam stalks away phone pressed to his ear.

You sit backstage. Silently waiting, peeling at the label of the water bottle in your hand. Who would want you dead? Why would he wait until then to take the shot? Was he working alone? How did he get away?

“Hey.” Sam’s voice pulls you out of your head and when you look up to see two men you don’t recognize you’re surprised. They’re both good looking men, one with blue eyes and chin length dark hair partially swept into a man bun and dark hair on his face. The other also has blue eyes but he has lighter hair, it’s shorter swept back and he too has a dark beard. Both men are in causal wear with guns being the only thing, other than their ridiculously good looks, that might make you take a double take.

“This is Steve and Bucky. The two guys I was telling you about.” He says introducing you to the two men. Steve, the lighter haired one gives you a soft smile while Bucky just gives you a small nod.

“Hi.”

“We’re gonna take care of you.” Steve says and you honestly believe him. “Did Sam tell you how this is gonna work?”

“No.”

“So basically Buck and I work as a team. He does the investigative work while I act as a bodyguard,” Steve says. “Our main concern is making sure you feel safe.”

“Okay,” you take a deep breath and stand. “Then I guess your job starts now then. We’ve got some meet and greets and I’m not going to bail.”

“Uh, someone just tried to kill you.” Bucky says, looking at you like you’re an idiot.

“I know. But I saw him and could point him out. Besides, what are the chances he stuck around?” You ask putting the water bottle down and making your way to the side room. “You coming Sam?”

“Let me get Peter and Mikey.” Hey says, also looking at you like you’ve lost your mind. “The fans will understand if we cancel,” he tells you, “You were just shot at.”

“I’m not going to let him win.” You argue back, “The fans need to know that I’m okay, that I’m not scared. Even if I’m fucking terrified.” You tell the three men then turn and make your way to down the hall and to where the fans are waiting. You can hear them.

“Okay woah. Slow your roll.” Steve says blocking you from the door, “At least tell us what he looked like.”

“Dark hair. Square jaw. Kinda greasy. Too old to have been at this show alone and blend in. He was wearing a dark top.” When he doesn’t move you raise your eyebrows at him. “I have nothing else. Can you move please?” He sighs heavily then opens the door and goes out before you.

“She’s not going to make this easy is she?” You hear Bucky ask Sam.

“Nope. Nope she’s not.”


	2. Chapter 2

You spend two hours meeting with your fans. They’re wonderful, expressing concern about your near death experience. You try to ease their fears, telling them that everything was fine. That you weren’t worried. That you knew they were going to catch the guy.

All lies.

Steve and Bucky stay close to you the whole time. One of them will occasionally move through the crowd, searching for the man you’d described.

This crowd is smaller than usual, something you’re actually grateful for, it means that you’re done with the meet and greet in record time.

“Sam,” you whisper as the two of you head back to the buses.

“Hmm?” He hums not looking at you.

“What are we doing about your friends after we leave New York?”

“They’ll stay with us.”

“Um, how are we supposed to house them?”

“They’ll stay with you and I’ll bunk with those two idiots.” Sam nods his head back at Peter and Mike while pushing the door to the back parking lot open.

“Sam?” Steve calls getting both of our attention, “Shouldn’t there be fans or something out here?”

“Not always. This one is gated off.” Peter tells him from behind him. He and Mikey slide their way through the small group of you and out the door.

“You stay between us and if anything should happen get back into the building.” Bucky says moving in front of you. Steve moves closer to you, he’s just behind you and on your right. Sam is on your left.

“They’re staying,” Sam says as the four of you make your way, rather quickly, toward the bus, “Until this guy is caught.”

“Sam,” You hiss, “we can’t afford that.” Whole your band is well known on the east coast you don’t have a massive fan base across the whole country, yet.

“It’s a good thing the Sarge owes me a favor then.” Sam says and Bucky lets out an annoyed huff causing Steve to chuckle softly.

“Keep moving.” He mutters, his shoulders still tense as the four of you pile onto the bus.

“Safe and sound,” you hum dropping down onto your couch.

“Not exactly.” Steve says seriously as he leans over you to pull the blinds closed. God he smells good. “Alright we need to come up with a plan here. Buck, when the police get here I want you to meet with them. Bring them here, they come to her not the other way around. Sam, do you still have your conceal and carry?”

“Only for Jersey.”

“If I add you to our employees you’ll be able to carry in all fifty states. You cool with that?” Bucky says as he drags the thick curtain that blocks you from the driver closed.

“Yep.”

“I’ll stay here,” Steve continues, “To make sure nothing happens. I want to walk through what you saw during the concert again.” He says turning toward you. “Are you okay to do that?”

“I’ll be fine.” You tell him, you’re fairly confident that you can give him an accurate description of the man that had so stood out.

“Alright. Sam, let the other two know that we’re staying. They don’t need to know the plans.”

“What? Why not?” I ask, brows furrowing.

“Because I don’t know them so I don’t trust them.” Steve says simply, when you open your mouth to protest Sam cuts you off.

“Hey,” you look over at him, “let them do their jobs.” You scowl over at him but don’t argue. You trust Sam and if Sam trusts them than fine. You won’t fight them.

Bucky and Sam leave then and you grab your guitar before dropping back onto the you place the guitar in your lap. You pluck the strings, making sure it’s in tune before playing the song that you’d been playing on stage when he shot at you.

“The first time I noticed him was about half way through the show.” You tell Steve not looking at him. “He seemed out of place. People who pay for those seats tend to be mega fans, ones that I recognize.”

“You recognize them?” He repeats sounding doubtful.

“We’re not that big yet, so yea. Most of the fans that come are still pretty diehard.” He nods so you continue, “I saw him pull the gun and point it at me and all I could do was sit there like an idiot.”

“Fear makes us do weird things.”

“He hit the guitar. I got lucky that his aim wasn’t better.” You mumble your fingers faltering on the strings of your guitar. “Honestly I think it happened really fast but it felt like hours.” Steve doesn’t say anything. He just watches you from the other side of the trailer, leaning against the wall.

“Do you have anyone who might want to hurt you?”

“No.”

“You seem pretty confident about that.”

“I can’t imagine having someone dislike me so much that they’d want me dead.” The sentence causes a wave of nausea to pass through you. A second passes and you basically throw your guitar on the couch beside you before bolting to the bathroom and losing your dinner. You rinse your mouth with mouthwash then lean your forearms on the counter of the tiny bathroom.

Someone hates you enough to actually want you dead. Your hands are clammy with sweat, and your breathing is shaky and uneven.

“Hey,” Steve’s gentle voice comes from behind you, “You okay? Do you want me to go get Sam?”

“No!” You cry whipping around, “Don’t tell Sam. He’ll cancel the rest of the tour and I don’t want him to do that. Please don’t tell Sam.”

“So this tour is more important than your life?”

“We’re finally getting some momentum.” You don’t answer his question, and Steve folds his arms over his chest. “I know this doesn’t make sense to you but we’ve worked so hard.” There’s a tap on the door and Steve’s hand flies to his gun.

“It’s Buck and the cops.” Bucky calls through the door.

“Stay.” Steve mumbles before leaving his post at the bathroom door and going back to the trailer door. You hear him talking to the police but you wait like he’s asked you to.

When Steve comes back he leads you out to the couch then sits down next to you. “They’ve just got a few questions for you.”

“Okay.”

“If you need to stop just let us know and we’ll stop.” He tells you gently, and you nod.

The two men start asking you questions. What did you see? Where was he standing? What did he look like? Did you recognize you? Is anyone mad at you? Who might want to harm you?

The questions all blend together and you’re tired. They ask you questions for nearly two hours before you need a break. You gently grasp Steve’s arm and squeeze, he thankfully understands.

“Alright. You’re just going in circles now, if you have anything useful to ask do it now or leave.”

The two detectives look at one another then stand and shake not only your hand but Steve’s.

“We’ll figure out who did this Miss Starr.” One of them tells you before they leave.

“Starr?” Steve asks looking over at you with a raised brow.

“Yea, an old manager we had thought it’d be a good idea to ‘project glamour’ and insisted on giving me a stage name. It’s more of a joke now than anything.” You say resting your head in your hands. This is exhausting.

“Thank you for telling me you’d had enough.” He says locking the door, then joining you back on the couch.

“Thanks for getting them out of here.” You say, not looking at him, “This whole day has just been exhausting.”

“Bucky’s grabbing my stuff but if you wanna crash don’t feel like you need to hang out with me.”

“You’ll be okay on the couch?”

“Yea.”

“Okay. Goodnight.”

“Night.” You close the door to your room and after changing into your shorts and T-shirt you crawl into bed and just lay there.

Well this sucks.


	3. Chapter 3

It takes you forever to get to sleep. You toss and turn, punch your pillow down, then fluff it back up again. The sleep you get is crap, you stare up at the ceiling, the nightmare keeps coming back.

The flash of the gun. The splintering of your guitar. The pressure against you. The bullet must’ve hit just right to have missed your body.

You wake with a small shriek but it’s enough to draw Steve Rogers into your small bedroom, gun drawn and shirtless. His eyes search the room first then land on your gasping form, the blankets held close to your body in tightly clenched hands.

Steve places the gun gently on the bedside table and slowly places one knee on the bed, his hands gently take your biceps. They slide down your arms and gently open your hands.

“Hey,” He says lowly, “Hey you’re okay. It was a dream.”

“But it wasn’t a dream.” You mutter, “it was real.” You stare at a piece of fluff that’s stuck to the comforter and try to get your heart to slow down.

“You’re safe,” He soothes, “You’re safe with me, you’re safe here.”

“I’m sorry if I scared you,” You tell him, finally meeting his blue-green eyes.

“Hey, don’t be darlin.” He moves away and you immediately want him to come back.

“Steve?” He looks down at you, “Will, will you stay with me? I don’t want to be alone.”

“Sure.” He agrees softly, thankfully understanding. You slide over on the bed then scoot up and lean against the wall at the top of the bed. “You wanna talk about it?” He asks as he eases himself down onto the bed, he puts the blanket over his legs and relaxes back next to you.

“Nope.”

“You want me to talk?”

“If you don’t mind.” You say sheepishly, it’s comforting that he’s able to talk you out of your spiral. You’ve got to assume you’re not the first person that he’s had to do this for.

“What would you like to hear about?”

“Why does Bucky owe Sam a favor?” You ask looking over at him, your head still resting on the wall.

“Sam saved his life.” That’s not what you were expecting. You can’t believe that Sam hadn’t told you about this. “We were driving down a side street and an IED went off on Buck’s side of the car. Flipped the car and took Buck’s arm almost clean off. Sam dragged Bucky out then came back to help me and the other guys. He was given a Bronze Star for what he did.”

“Shit.” You mutter, Sam hadn’t told you any of this, it wasn’t like you hadn’t asked about his time overseas, he’d just never wanted to talk about it.

“Yea. A friend of mine from college designed him a robotic arm that functions exactly like a normal one. It’s incredible.”

“I was going to ask. I mean I didn’t see his arms but in his jacket he didn’t look like he had a prosthetic.”

“You’ll have to check it out. You know who Tony Stark is?”

“The tech billionaire? Yea.”

“He designed it.” You’re impressed, you’re surprised that Steve doesn’t work protection for Stark.

“And you’re okay?” You ask softly, you can’t imagine that he walked away without any trauma from a roadside bomb.

“Yea, was in a coma for almost three months but otherwise was fine.”

“Sam doesn’t talk about his time in the military. I know he has nightmares, I’ve heard them and had to wake him before. I know he lost someone named Riley but that’s the most I ever get out of him.” You tell Steve sadly, “I don’t want to push him but he’s my best friend and I can’t help but worry.”

“He’s pretty okay. Much better than some of the other guys, I think working in music has helped.” You’re quiet for a few minutes before you sigh then ask,

“What made you want to go into private security? It can’t be a relaxing job. I’d think after being in the military you’d want something less stressful.”

“I like making people feel safe.” His honest answer warms your heart, “do you like being a rock star?” You chuckle softly at the title.

“I don’t think I’m a rock star. But yea, I do like creating music, I like the creative process of it. The other part that I really enjoy is the fans, the way they respond to the music, the things they create and how something I’ve created can provoke feelings in other people. It’s really cool.” You answer him honestly, “If you weren’t in body guarding? Personal protection? Personal security? In this line of work what would you do?”

“I think I’d have liked being a cop.”

“Another protector job.”

“Yea,” he grins over at you then sighs softly, “I just feel like that’s what I was meant to be.” You stifle a yawn and Steve gives you another little smile. “Why don’t we put on a movie or tv show?” He asks.

“That sounds nice, you can pick.” You offer, passing him the remote. Steve turns on the tv and after maneuvering to Netflix he chooses a baking competition. A sweet, no pun intended, surprise in your opinion. You start to drift as you watch the Great British Baking Show.

“If you need to sleep, sleep.” Steve says gently the third time your head falls to his arm.

“I’m fine,” you lie, your words slurring with sleep.

“Uh huh.” Steve doesn’t sound like he believes you, “why don’t you lie down darlin?”

“Will you stay?”

“As long as you need me to.” He promises as you snuggle down into your bed then let your eyes drift closed.

“Steve?”

“Mm?”

“Don’t fart okay?” You mumble and he lets out a loud laugh, you can’t help the smile that spreads across your face. You peek up at him and see that his head is back and he’s shaking his head at the ceiling.

“Promise I won’t,” He says giving you a warm smile, “Sleep darlin.”


	4. Chapter 4

You didn’t have a show until three days after the attack. It was much needed down time not only for you but for the guys too. You spend quite a bit of time just hanging out with Sam and Steve. The two men are fun and relaxed which helps keep you relaxed. You had noticed Sam was carrying a weapon, and he had another ID marking him as personal security and able to conceal and carry a gun.

The day of the show moves quickly. Steve leaves you alone in your trailer for a few hours while he and Bucky get the venue set how they want it. Updating the venue’s security staff on the procedure they want followed. When two of the employees balk they’re dismissed immediately and Steve calls in two more of his own guys, a guy he calls Happy and the other Dum Dum. Apparently they too were in the military with Steve, Sam and Bucky and when you meet the two stocky men you can’t help but like them.

“Ten minutes to showtime!” The stage manager, Okoye calls down the hall. Steve is perched at the door, leaning against the frame while you get ready. You’d gotten changed on the bus then brought your make up backstage to do, the light was better here. Your hair is done and you’re swiping on the last bit of lipstick when some movement from the doorway catches your eye. Bucky is handing Steve something dark, he mutters something into Steve’s ear then vanishes.

“Everything okay?” You ask Steve turning to face him. He stares at you for a second then gives you a curt nod.

“All good. I had Buck bring this for you.” He goes to pass over what Bucky has given him and you see it’s a bullet proof vest.

“Yea, pass. It doesn’t go with my outfit.” You tell him gesturing down at the jean shorts, combat boots and tight black tank you were wearing.

“This isn’t up for debate.” He tells you gruffly, “You wear the vest or we cancel the show.”

“Funny. You’d think that you hired me.” You tell him with a raised brow, “I’m not trying to be difficult here but you’ve put better security into place and brought in more guys. I really don’t think that it’s necessary.”

“I do.” You fold your arms over your chest and glare up at him.

“No. I will not wear that on stage. I’ll compromise with you and wear it outside the building but I’m not going to perform with that on. I won’t be able to do anything but stand there,” You argue.

“What if he got in before we put up the extra layer of security?”

“Then he’s going to have to take the shot from backstage and that’s where you and Bucky will be.” You point out, he doesn’t move just glowers down at you. If you didn’t know that he was actually a cinnamon roll you might’ve been intimidated.

“I don’t like it.”

“I know.” He stares at you for a moment longer then sighs heavily.

“Alright, you wear it everywhere except the stage. That includes the meet and greet afterwards.”

“Fine,” You agree.

“Two minutes!” Okoye calls again and you move to make your way out of the dressing room.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Steve says blocking your way, “Everywhere but the stage.” He reminds you offering over the vest. You let out a loud groan but take it from him anyway. It’s heavier than you were expecting and fits you like a glove. Once it’s strapped on Steve lets you go past him then follows you down the hall where you meet Peter and Mikey who tell you how much they just love your new vest. Teasing you about how you’ll start a new fashion trend with the ballistic vest. You flip them off then they head onto the stage. The second they’re in the light the roar of the crowd intensifies. You and Sam do your secret handshake then he too heads out to another deafening roar.

“Oh, you’re gonna want these.” You tell Steve digging the two pairs of ear plugs you’d grabbed for him and Bucky. “It tends to get loud back here.” You take the vest off once Peter starts on the drums, just tapping the base the fans quiet and you take a deep breath.

“Hey,” Steve says and you turn to look at him, “break a leg.” You shoot him a grin then make your way on stage facing him until you can’t see into the darkness anymore. Then it’s go time.

This is one of the bigger venues you’ve done, nothing huge but there are 10,000 seats and it did almost sell out. Something that had completely floored you.

The concert goes off without a hitch, the fans sing along loudly enough for you to hear them and it nearly brings tears to your eyes.

You cool off before tugging one of Sam’s big sweatshirts on over your bullet proof vest then head for the meet and greet.

The meet and greet is longer than normal. People express their outrage at you being targeted and their hope that he’s found soon.

They’re all very sweet and it honestly you’re touched by their level of care. You take one last photo and a hug then she leaves. “Ready?” You ask Steve and he nods taking his place just behind you. You can see him out of the corner of your right eye and it’s honestly so comforting. You and Steve make your way out the back of the venue and toward the buses. You’ll be traveling tonight and you’re actually pretty excited to get out of New York. And you love sleeping in a moving bus.

You’re less than a fifty yards away from the bus when you feel Steve shift, not physically but it’s almost like he senses something is off and his attention to that literally changes the energy around you.

“Go faster.” He says, his voice this deep, quiet command. It’s a voice you’ve never heard before, and it’s one you don’t argue with. The shot rings out when you’re less than ten feet from the door of your bus. “Run!” Steve cries, he didn’t need to because you were already sprinting to the safety of the bus. You yank the door open and tumble up the stairs Steve close on your heels. His body is covering yours on the floor, your torso on the flat ground of the bus and your legs still hanging over the stairs. He’d slammed the door shut so hard that the bus had shaken. “Back of the bus,” he whispers, “back of the bus.” The lock slides as you wiggle your way out from under him and start crawling for the back of the bus. You hear him moving behind you but don’t look, focusing on the safety of your room.

You’re suddenly more than a little grateful that he’d made you keep all the blinds drawn since day one.

You’re sitting on the floor in the front corner of your room, trying not to shake when Steve’s crouched from comes back.

“Darlin’?” He asks before he sees you, when he does he makes his way over to you and cups your face in his hands. “You okay? You’re not hurt?”

“I’m okay,” You whisper your hands go to his waist as he pulls you toward him. Your right hand finds something wet and sticky and when you look at it you’re horrified to see the crimson stain on your hand. “Oh my god Steve you’re bleeding!”


	5. Chapter 5

“I’m fine.” Steve says as you stare at him in horror.

“You were shot!”

“It just grazed me.” He says trying to check you over, make sure you’re okay.

“Steve I’m fine! You’re not! You’re bleeding!” You knock his hands away and go for his side, where the blood is coming from. You pull his shirt up and are relieved to see that the wound really is just a scrape. “Take your shirt off, I’ll get my first aid kit.” You tell him moving away from your little hiding spot. It’s nice to have something to do. A purpose of sorts.

When you come back Steve has peeled his shirt off and is holding it to the cut on his side while talking on his phone. You touch his arm gently and when he looks down at you he sees that you’ve got gloves on and are ready to take care of the scrape on his side. He moves the shirt away and you rip open an alcohol wipe then swipe it gently across the wound. His muscles clench at the sting but he doesn’t say anything. You think he’s talking to Bucky but you’re trying to focus on stopping the bleeding, his cut isn’t bleeding heavily but it’s long, all the way across his side. You pull a piece of gauze out of your bag then dig around for the medical tape. You hold the gauze to his side while you search one handed for the tape. He’s bled through the first sheet of gauze before you find it, so you add another piece of gauze then finally fish out the tape. You take Steve’s free hand and place it on top of the gauze he glances down at you but leaves his hand where you place it.

“Give me some good news Dum Dum.” He says lowly, you know he’s trying to keep you from freaking out. You focus back on the task at hand and rip the tape into a few strips before you put them on his side. You can feel the warmth from his skin through the rubber gloves.

“Thanks Dum.”

“They missed him again didn’t they?” You ask quietly adding another piece of tape to Steve’s side.

“Yea, they did.”

“At least we’re both alright. You might need some stitches but I’ve done my best.” You tell him peeling the gloves off, careful to not touch the outsides where his blood is.

“Thanks for taking care of that,” Steve says gesturing to his cut.

“It’s the least I could do,” you tell him before digging in one of the lower drawers for one of Sam’s shirts, “Here.” You toss Steve the shirt and he tugs it on.

“We’re going to have to talk to the police again.” He tells you glancing down at his phone.

“Great, because they’ve been so helpful.” You deadpan and Steve smirks, “The guys are all okay right?”

“Sam and them? Yea they’re all fine.”

“So it was just me again.” You say quietly, “I wish I knew who was after me.”

“We’ll get them.”

“When? After they’re successful? I’m trying to be light and breezy here Steve but this is exhausting.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve says giving your hand a gentle squeeze, “I wish I could tell you it was all going to be okay and that we were gonna get him, we will. I just don’t know when.”

“I appreciate everything you’ve done,” you tell him looking down at your hands, “this would’ve been so much harder without your help.”

“I’m glad we can make you feel safe.” He says quietly, your eyes meet his and Steve gives you a tender smile. “Do you want to stay here tonight or do you want to go to a hotel?”

“Whichever is safer.”

“The hotel would be best. I’ll let Sam and Bucky know we’re going and where so if they need either of us they can find us.”

“What about Peter and Mikey?”

“The fewer people that know the better.”

“Do you not trust them?”

“I don’t know them.” He says simply and it makes sense that he wouldn’t trust them.

“But I do,” you argue.

“You’re also the target here Darlin.” The look you shoot him practically screams ‘and’ so he continues, “so it’s probably someone that knows you, someone you know.” That causes a chill to go through you. “I don’t mean to scare you, I’m just being realistic.”

“No, it’s okay I don’t think about these things.” You look down at the floor down and Steve gently cups your chin bringing your gaze to his.

“You shouldn’t have to.” Neither of you move, him holding your chin in his large, warm hand, your eyes locked on his. He’s got such pretty eyes. His gaze flicks down to your lips and it takes everything in you to not lick your lips. You can feel your heart quickening and his eyes meet yours again.

“You guys okay?” Sam yells pounding on the door to the trailer, “Open up!” Steve rolls his eyes at you and you can’t help but chuckle softly, Steve stands up and peeks out the blinds then heads for the door. You hear him unlock it and then Sam comes onto the bus. “Is that my shirt?”

“Yea sorry. Got blood on mine.”

“What?” Sam comes hurrying back to your room and the relief on his face is evident. “You can’t just tell me you got blood on your shirt and not tell me she’s okay!” He cries looking back at Steve as he yanks you to your feet. Sam wraps you in a tight hug, “Jesus you scared me.” He grumbles into your ear as you wrap your arms around his waist.

“I’m okay Sammy. I’m okay.” You soothe gently rubbing his back and he takes a deep, shaky breath.

“I hear Cap is gonna take you to a hotel room,” Sam says when he pulls away, “You okay going with just him?”

“Yea. I feel safe with him, I trust him.”

“Call me if you want me to come.”

“Thanks Sam, I’ll be okay.”


	6. Chapter 6

You throw your bag onto the bed and watch as it hardly bounces. The hotel is one of those chain ones, Steve had asked you go unlisted and the manager had nodded, blushing slightly as she mentioned she was a fan. You’d signed an autograph for her then gone up to your room. Steve locks the door and then sets to work making the room more secure, he puts the chain in then takes a chair and props it under the door handle.

“Really?” You ask, folding your arms over your chest.

“Really.”

“How long are we going to stay here?”

“Until we have whoever is hurting you.”

“That could be weeks,” you gape over at him.

“Yea, it could, but I don’t think it will.” Your brow furrows and you wait for him to continue. “He’s moving quick, I don’t think that is moving you is going to stop him for long.” You both love and hate when he talks like this, it’s terrifying but also you don’t want to be completely oblivious to what’s going on. “Sorry, I hate scaring you.”

“You're not.” You lie and he levels you with a look. “

Sweetheart, you should be scared.” You bite your lip and look over at him, “It’s okay,” he soothes.

“God, I’m so over this!” You cry throwing your hands into the air as you begin to pace, “First of all, we’re finally getting attention, making waves and this bullshit happens! I’m the only one getting targeted so it’s probably someone who hates me for some reason, or is jealous or some crazy obsessed fan! It shouldn’t be this easy for someone to get at me! I just want my fucking life back!” You rage as you stalk back and forth across the length of the too small room. Steve doesn’t say anything, he just lets you go, “I fucking hate this! I hate feeling so fucking helpless! It’s nothing against you, I trust you and you’ve been amazing. So, so great, but I just want this over.” You stop and stare at him, “I’m just, I’m exhausted.”

“I wish I had answers for you darlin’ but I don’t. What answers I do have for you are this, you are going to make it through this, you’re handling this much better than some of my other clients, I’m so grateful you trust me. They will slip up, they always do, and when they do Bucky’ll get them.”

“Not you?”

“No, my job is to protect you. His job is to find them. The only way I get him is if he finds us and I’d rather not have that happen.”

“You and me both.” You sigh then pull your phone out of your pocket. Steve hasn’t wanted you to keep it but you’d turned off all location stuff and you’d sworn to stay off social media. You’d also promised Sam that you’d stay in touch, and you couldn’t do that without your phone. There’s a message notification on your phone, one from Peter who’s just in your phone as a porcupine emoji due to his last name.

 **Hey,** the text reads, **don’t say anything to Rogers but we think Mikey might be missing.**

 **What do you mean you think Mikey might be missing?** You type back turning away from Steve, who is more than a little impressive at reading subtle body language.

 **Well, we can’t find him and he’s not answering any texts but all his shits here. His rooms a fucking disaster but that’s not unusual, the fact that his wallet is here is weird though. The dudes seriously attached.**  You give an amused huff as you pace the length of the floor and Steve glances up at you. You see the movement out of the corner of your eye looking over at him.

“It’s Quill, Peter I mean, we’re just texting and he’s trying to cheer me up.” You lie before slipping into the bathroom and locking the door. You’re just about to text back when Mikey’s name drops across the top of your screen. You quickly hit the banner before it slides out of view and are thankful that you’ve ducked into the bathroom when a photo of Mikey comes across the screen. He’s tied to a chair, has blood on his face, and is sporting a black eye. Your hand files to your mouth to keep yourself quiet. Your phone shows that it’s waiting for a message so you wait.

 **If you want to see him alive you’ll come get him. Be here before midnight. Come alone.** You rapidly blink to get the tears out of your eyes then turn the shower on and climb in. You can’t just sneak out. Steve would hear you, and there’s no way he’s going to let you go alone.

Climbing into the shower you attempt to hatch a plan, you have to get Steve out of the room, embarrassment is probably the best way to do that. That and an emergency. You climb out of the shower, wrap the towel around yourself, take a deep breath and open the door a crack.

“Steve? Can you bring my bag over? I forgot it.” He does as you ask and you slide it in through as small of an opening you can. “Thank you!” You call before getting into new clothes. You grab Sam’s hoodie that you snuck into your bag and then make your way back to the main room. “Uh, Steve. We have a bit of a problem.” He instantly goes on alert.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, um it’s not an emergency like the kind you deal with.”

“Spit it out Darlin’,” he says relaxing back into the couch.

“I just got my period and I don’t have any pads or tampons.” His ears turn red but he doesn’t freak out, which is, sadly, a huge deal.

“Alright, you wanna call down to the front desk?”

“No! Have you ever seen what they stock. Cardboard Steve. Cardboard.”

“Okay, so what do you wanna do?”

“I wanna go get some stuff.” He sighs heavily then stands.

“You _will_ stay in here. Send me pictures of exactly what you want, there’s a Walgreens on the corner.”

“You’re a saint Steve. Honestly.” You tell him grabbing your phone to find the exact brand and type of thing you want, you need it to take him a while.

“Do you need any painkillers too?”

“Oh, yes! Midol.” You send him the text and he waits until it’s on his phone before he makes his way to the door.

“I’ll text you when I’m back. Do not open the door. Do not leave. Do not open the curtains.”

“Aye, aye Captain.” You tell him with a jaunty salute and he shoots you a look then moves the chair away from the door, unlocks it and slips out. The door clicks shut and you slide the lock, knowing that he’s not going to go anywhere without hearing that, then watch through the peephole as he heads for the elevator. You count to one hundred then making sure you have your phone slip out of the room and down the hall to the stairs. You’re coming Mikey. You’re coming.


	7. Chapter 7

You get an Uber to the subway station and make your way to the address you’d been sent. It’s in a part of town that you’ve never been to before and the closer you get the more rundown and abandoned it gets. You get off the train and the second that you’re above ground your phone is ringing. You’re not surprised to see that it’s Steve.

“Hello?”

“Where the hell are you?”

“They have Mikey.”

“You-you’re-oh my god Darlin’ no. Please tell me where you are. Please.” You hear something fall to the ground through the phone.

“I’m going to get him.” You tell him trying to remain calm.

“No, no please tell me where you are. They’re going to kill you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“What do you think they’ve been trying to do!” He practically yells into the phone and you swallow thickly. “Please, please tell me where you are.”

“Steve I can’t trade my life for his. I can’t do that.” You mutter, tears are slipping down your face as you lean back against a wall. You’ve got the phone pressed tightly to your ear and your other hand on your forehead covering your eyes.

“I’m not asking you to. I’m asking you to tell me where you are, I want to help. Please Darlin’.” He begs and you know that you’re going to give in to him if you keep talking. He’s moving quickly, that much you can tell.

“I’m sorry Steve.”

“Wait, wait how did you know Mikey needed saving?” You hear a car door slam and you’re not going to fool yourself and think that Steve isn’t tracking you.

“Peter texted me and told me he was missing.” You tell him, you need to go, “Steve I need to get to Mikey. I only have ten minutes left.”

“Please baby don’t do this. Please don’t. Think about your fans, that feeling you get when you perform, how much Sam cares about you. Please, please just wait until I can get there.” You don’t think he realizes that he called you baby.

“I’m so sorry.” You choke out, “I-I have to go. Tell Sammy I’m sorry and that I’m so grateful for everything he’s done for me. Tell him he’s my brother and I love him. Tell Quill I’m sorry and that he’s an asshole, it’s a joke. He’ll get it.”

“Just let me get there. You can tell them yourself, I’m only ten minutes away, please just wait.”

“I can’t. They’ll kill Mikey. Tell him this isn’t his fault, that this was my decision.”

“No. Please no.”

“I’m sorry Steve. Thank you for, for everything. You’ve really been a knight in shining armor.” You want to tell him you’re pretty sure that you’re falling in love with him. That you could’ve completely fallen for him given a little more time but you don’t want to hurt him and that feels cruel.

“I’m begging you. Please please don’t hang up.” You do.

You have to get to Mikey and you only have three minutes left. You mute your phone, turn off the vibrate then shove it into your bra. Hopefully they won’t search you. You make your way to the building that has the address on it. You take a deep breath and push the door open, it’s musty in the building and it’s dark. You’ve never been more aware of life than you are now. The way that your heart pounds in your chest, how the air fills your lungs. The brush of your hair against your skin and the echo of the your feet on the hard floor.

“I knew you were stupid but I didn’t think you were this fucking stupid.” A cold and familiar voice comes from behind you.

“Mikey!” You gasp spinning around, “You got free! Let’s go!” Relief fills you, until you register what’s in his hand and pointed directly at you. “What-what are you doing?”

“What the men I hired apparently couldn’t.” He snarls as he tightens his grip on the gun.

“What?” You breathe, the horror fills you and you take a step back away from him.

“Surprise bitch.”

“What the hell! Why?” You demand, the fear and horror gives way rapidly to pure, red hot fury.

“I’m fucking sick of being backup. Everyone talks about how fucking perfect you are and how it’s all about you and your perfect voice.”

“You tried to kill me because you were jealous?” You hiss, hardly believing that could be the case.

“Why should you be the star of the fucking show? Without me you don’t have a guitarist, I fucking fix half of the songs that you write! I’m just as fucking important as you! But all they care about is the little punk pop princess!” He spits, “the pretty little girl with the pretty little voice who is always front and center! Who always has the longest lines! She’s so perfect and special!” Mikey roars, “You don’t deserve all the attention and all the fucking fame! You’re the fucking face of Trickster, without out me we wouldn’t even have the song of the summer!”

“Are you serious right now? Mikey, I always give you credit for helping me write our songs. I always make sure that you guys answer questions when we go on shows and I fucking sing your praises! This is insane. Let’s just go home and talk this out with Quill and Sam.”

“No. I’m done sharing the spotlight with you. I’m done. I’m going to kill you, I’m going to kill you then play the survivor of the attack and they’ll never know it was me.”

“I loved you like a brother. I would’ve died for you tonight.”

“No, you will die for me tonight.” He says with a cold smile, one that doesn’t reach his eyes. The gun cocks and he points it at your heart, “thank you for your sacrifice. I’ll be sure to write you a remembrance ballad.” You want to give some snappy response but when that gun points at you suddenly it’s hard to think. Your mouth goes dry. “Close your eyes.”

“If you’re going to kill me, you’re going to look me in the eye and do it.” You’re not going to make this easy.

“Or he could drop the gun and keep his brains in his head.” Steve snarls, his gun pressed against Mikey’s head. “Just twitch wrong you fucking piece of shit. Give me an excuse. Darlin’ get your ass over here. Now.”

“Don’t you fucking move.” Mikey threatens so you kick him in the nuts.

“Fuck you Mikey.” You snap, kicking the gun away from where he dropped it. Steve handcuffs him, picks the gun up with a piece of newspaper, then practically drags Mikey to the doors. You follow the two men silently, you know Steve is pissed at you, you can almost feel the rage rolling off of him.

“Buck we clear?” He must get the all clear because he shoves Mikey out the door and into the waiting fist of Sam.

“You fucking bastard! You fucking piece of shit! How dare you! How fucking dare you!” He roars as Quill and Bucky quickly drag him away.

Steve shoves Mikey at a waiting cop muttering a quick, “Thanks Tony.” Before stalking away. You follow him silently until you’re away from the prying eyes of the press then he spins and pins you between him and the wall.

“Don’t you ever, ever scare me like that again.” He growls ignoring the surprised squeak that has come out of your mouth, “I’ve never been so scared in my goddamn life.”

“Steve-“

“No, you don’t get to talk yet.” He says, his voice low and commanding, you expect him to keep yelling at you, to really let you have it. But instead he crushes your mouth with his, one of his hands wraps around the back of your neck while the other grips your hip. It takes you half a second to respond but somehow your hands end up with two fistfuls of his shirt and when his teeth drag across your lower lip he swallows the low moan you let out.

When you break apart for air Steve keeps his forehead resting against yours.

“I swear if you ever scare me like that again, I’ll shoot you myself.” He promises softly.

“Does that mean I get to keep you around?”

“Honey, if you think you’re getting rid of me now you’ve lost your damn mind.” He says before softly kissing you again, “I mean I bought you fucking tampons. I’m not going anywhere.”

You can’t help it, you laugh, and in that instant you know that even after all this shit, you’re gonna be just fine.


End file.
